Palestinians, Israeli troops clash in teens search

Associated Press

Published
1:25 pm CDT, Thursday, June 19, 2014

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli soldiers clashed with Palestinians during an arrest raid early Thursday in the most violent confrontation so far in the weeklong search for three missing Israeli teens believed to have been abducted in the West Bank.

The military said about 300 Palestinians took to the streets when the soldiers entered the West Bank town of Jenin overnight. Some opened fire while others threw explosive devices or rocks at the soldiers, who responded with live fire, it said.

There were no serious injuries reported on either side.

Israel has blamed the Islamic militant group Hamas for the apparent abductions, without providing evidence, and has launched a widespread crackdown on the group, arresting scores of members while conducting a feverish manhunt for the missing youths.

Hamas has praised the abduction of the teenagers, but has not claimed responsibility for it.

The crisis has escalated already heightened tensions between Israel and the new Palestinian government, which is headed by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas but supported by Hamas. Israel, along with the West, considers Hamas a terrorist group because of its long history of attacks on Israeli civilians. Hamas has abducted Israelis before.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Palestinian unity agreement Thursday afternoon at a press conference at a military base.

“I expect Abu Mazen (Abbas) to expel this murderous terror group from his government,” Netanyahu said. “I think that’s important for our common future,” he said.

“Hamas have called time after time to abduct Israeli civilians,” he said.

The three teens — Eyal Yifrah, 19, Gilad Shaar, 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship — disappeared late last Thursday while hitchhiking home from Jewish seminaries in the West Bank.

Families of the teens prayed Thursday at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, a remnant of the biblical Jewish Temple compound, and the holiest site where Jews can pray.

“We know today more than we did a few days ago, but there is still a way ahead of us and we need to be patient,” Netanyahu said.

There has been no sign of life from the missing teens or any ransom or other demands from their purported kidnappers.